Carriage of bacteria antagonistic towards Staphylococcus intermedius on canine skin and mucosal surface

Antagonism against Staphylococcus intermedius was investigated amongst bacteria isolated from skin and mucosae of (1) 15 dogs with pyoderma and (2) 42 healthy dogs, including household pets, laboratory beagles and guide dogs. Fifteen isolates of S. intermedius, four coagulase-negative staphylococci and a Micrococcus were inhibitory in vitro against at least one of the three indicator strains using direct and deferred inhibition tests. More dogs with antagonists were found in the pyoderma group and amongst laboratory beagles (p < 0.05) compared to healthy household pets. The frequency of all antagonists and of antagonistic S. intermedius from mucosae was higher in the pyoderma group compared to healthy household pets (p < 0.01 for both) and all healthy animals (p < 0.05 and p = 0.01, respectively). increased competition at mucosae of infected dogs caused by higher populations of bacteria may have favoured the selection of antagonistic strains. Further studies, including tests for adherence and virulence are required to determine whether these isolates could be used as interfering strains against canine pyoderma.